Extra Focus on the Sauce. Make It Less Sweet.

Extra Focus on the Sauce. Make It Less Sweet.

Mar 16, 2025

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by

Should I ever have an urge for a sweet chicken thigh dish, I’ll know where to go for a recipe. The only thing that I would need to do is get the sauce to the right consistency and sweetness.

Below are some links to more details, including photos:

My Story
Inspiring Recipe
- First Try
- Second Try
Continuous Improvement
Lesson for Dumber Self
Next Step for You

My Story

I learned how to cook Ong Choy from the blog, Onolicious Hawaii, as documented here. Afterwards, I browsed the website for additional recipes to try.

Inspiring Recipe

What I came across on the blog was the recipe, Shoyu Chicken. This is a dish that I first heard about from my husband. I might even have eaten it during my trips to Hawaii, so why not make it?

First Try

A few weeks after finding the recipe, I had purchased some chicken thighs. After deciding to cook some Shoyu Chicken, I only had to locate the remaining ingredients, staples already in my kitchen.

Ingredients to Use

With 3.46 pounds of skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (7 pieces), I increased the rest of the ingredients on the default recipe to the following:

3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of shoyu (soy sauce)
3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of sugar
3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of water
3 1/2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
6 cloves of garlic
3 1/2 inches of ginger
4 stalks of green onions

In addition, I had oil readily available by the stove.

As for the sesame seeds, I skipped them since I didn’t have any and they were optional in the recipe.

Ginger, garlic, sugar, green onion, rice vinegar, shoyu (soy sauce), and chicken thighs

Steps to Prepare

For the five steps in the instructions, I performed them as written, except for Step 4.

With almost twice the amount of chicken than was listed on the default recipe, I had to increase the simmering time by 15 minutes before the meat reached 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for the sauce, even though I waited about 19 minutes, it didn’t thicken.

Smashed garlic cloves and sliced ginger in a shot glass — Smashed garlic cloves and sliced ginger

Browned chicken thighs on a white plate — Plate of browned chicken thighs

Mixture of shoyu, sugar, water, and rice vinegar in a saucepan

Bringing chicken to a simmer in a pot — Bringing chicken to a simmer

Chicken turned over and simmering in a pot — Chicken turned over and simmering

Simmered chicken in a stainless steel bowl — Simmered chicken

Time to Eat

Here’s the chicken for dinner. I was hoping that it was going to taste as good as it looked.

Shoyu chicken in a stainless steel bowl — Bowl of shoyu chicken

Recipe Rating

Below are the results of the recipe after the first try:

# of Ingredients	Effort	$ / Serving	Try Again?
9 *

* including oil and water

The chicken meat was a little dry and without the sauce, it didn’t have much taste. With the sauce, it was gingery and sweet, but the flavor didn’t stick to the meat. Nonetheless, my husband enjoyed the dish.